Activision is milking the shit out of Guitar Hero aren't they

[Xizer]

So it's been about two and a half years since Guitar Hero came out.

Now we've got:

Nov. 2005 - Guitar Hero
Nov. 2006 - Guitar Hero II
July. 2007 - Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Oct. 2007 - Guitar Hero III
June 2008 - Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
June 2008 - Guitar Hero: On Tour
Oct. 2008 - Guitar Hero World Tour
Jan. 2009 - Guitar Hero: Metallica

This is getting ridiculous. 8 games in 3 years, and they continue to announce more and more and speed up the pace that they're releasing them. They started out with one a year, one every 6 months, now it's down to one every 4 months, and there's no end in sight.

Seriously Activision, come the fuck on. Give it a rest already. I'm tired of all these fake guitars cluttering up my room. Just slooooow down already and catch your breath.

I guess it's nice that instead of EA having a monopoly on the game market this allows Activision to compete, but even EA only releases one Madden a year.

[boatofcar]

Wow, I've never met anyone who was forced to buy a video game just because it was on the shelf. What's that like?

[NE146]

Yeah it's plain to everyone they're running it to the ground..

I've been a Guitar Hero fan since the first one, but one thing I've come to realize is it's playability is limited for me. Once I pass a song on a certain difficulty, I almost NEVER go back to play it again. The fun for me is in passing and completing the game, not really in re-playing.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Guitar/Rock Band rythm games are the biggest money maker that the industry has seen since I don't know what.

It makes money, hell, it MINTS money as a genre and generally speaking none of them have been below-average titles ... so don't expect them or the milking to go away ... mmmmm guitar milk.

[BHvrd]

To cut to the chase....yes, it would be nice to have one title that had all the songs or via download without all the dongles, lack of compatibility, etc, etc.

This is why I went Rockband, but yes a definitive Guitar Hero would be nice.

[diskoboy]

I said the exact same thing in the GH4 announcement thread, a while back.



Activision is determined to run this franchise into the ground.

[Pantechnicon]

I'm not into the series at all, yet it did not escape my notice on my last visit to Gamestop that the first three titles were fetching $40 apiece for used copies...at least, that's what Gamestop expected to get for them and probably eventually will.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I also imagine the dev process on these isn't quite as intensive or expensive as a GTA-level effort at building a whole virtual city. Odds are good that a lot of the fundamental code in GH is getting recycled from one title to the next, slapped under some new graphics with band-specific motion captures. Milk it while you can, I guess.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

But, inversely wouldn't it be strange ... wouldn't it be SHOCKING if they announced that they weren't going to make any more Guitar Hero games, or even if they were going to take a few years off before the next one?

Why after 8+ Mario Party games, 9 Tony Hawk games, too many Mega Man games to count, and a hundred other franchises numbering well over FOUR titles does the gaming collective continue to be surprised by acts like this?

The game is a top selling title on all consoles (and soon to be portables with the DS) ... I'm not necessarily agreeing with the hard and fast sequels (I think they should just get a good online version with a Rock Band type store going) but, why wouldn't they "milk" it??

[Slate]

So it's been about two and a half years since Guitar Hero came out.

Now we've got:

Nov. 2005 - Guitar Hero
Nov. 2006 - Guitar Hero II
July. 2007 - Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Oct. 2007 - Guitar Hero III
June 2008 - Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
June 2008 - Guitar Hero: On Tour
Oct. 2008 - Guitar Hero World Tour
Jan. 2009 - Guitar Hero: Metallica

They started out with one a year, one every 6 months, now it's down to one every 4 months, and there's no end in sight.

Seriously Activision, come on. Give it a rest already. I'm tired of all these fake guitars cluttering up my room. Slow down already and catch your breath.

I guess it's nice that instead of EA having a monopoly on the game market this allows Activision to compete, but even EA only releases one Madden a year.

Guitar Hero: On Tour? What? I haven't even heard of that! Is that a second name for World Tour? Oh, Don't forget Guitar Hero: Art of Noise. I haven't heard anything about it for awhile but it was announced. (I've never heard of Art Of Noise before)

If there was a Guitar hero: Nirvana edition, I'd consider playing it.. Now that Neversoft makes the games (Since GH3) They suck compared to GH1 and GH2.

And yes, If they keep it up you're going to be seeing Guitar Hero games for bands that are hardly known. "Guitar Hero: Guitar Vader" Edition, anyone?

[DigitalSpace]

Who didn't see this coming? The GH games are selling like hotcakes, and in the business of video games, hardly anybody calls it quits with a majorly successful franchise while it's still on top, whether someone on a message board likes it or not.

It's really no different from what Konami's been doing with DDR and Karaoke Revolution, GH just generates a lot more noise.

[Sudo]

I'm so glad I have no interest in music games, since I couldn't afford to buy all the DLC and spinoffs they put out.

[jcalder8]

I agree with NE146. I love getting through a song but there are only a select few that I actually go back and replay.

I am getting a bit tired of all the different games. I wouldn't mind so much if they were value priced but paying full price for Aerosmith and Metallica just seems nuts.

[exit]

I never got into Guitar Hero, but I do own a copy of Rockband and one guitar and considerer it superior to Guitar Hero.Then again I prefer playing Bass over Guitar, which would defeat the purpose of owning GH.

[djbeatmongrel]

Guitar Hero: On Tour? What? I haven't even heard of that!

its the ds version.

Really why the hell does anyone bitch. its just more songs. Really imagine taking all the dlc content and putting it on disc. thats all it is. they may be milking the series but as long as theres songs that they can use I don't see it as a big issue. Besides have any of you whiners look at the releases in Japan for beatmania and ddr? guitar hero is just catching up.

[josekortez]

Activision is determined to run this franchise into the ground.

Wow. Just like they did to Tony Hawk.

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

Wow. Just like they did to Tony Hawk.

and guess who's not in charge of tony hawk development anymore.

[gepeto]

I know what your saying but I am not sure a music related based game can fall into the overdone catagory. I think the dedicated player once beaten the game thirst for new ones or have a wish list of songs. I am not a big gh fan but I really like the encore and I seen a downloadable version of the cars for something either rock band or gh.

I guess it is a choice charge the DL rate which I think it is expensive or get athe game not sure which has more bang for the buck. Lets get money for nothing or bad to the bone or sultans of swing.

[Sniderman]

Yeah, I wish they'd stop it too.

Also, I sure could do without another:
Madden
Sonic
Mario
Crash Bandicoot
Pac-Man
Donkey Kong
Grand Theft Auto
Halo

etc.etc.etc.etc.etc.foreverforeverforever....

[boatofcar]

Does anyone understand that without pumping out guaranteed-to-sell franchises publishers can't afford to finance new projects that might fail?

[heybtbm]

Oh, Don't forget Guitar Hero: Art of Noise. I haven't heard anything about it for awhile but it was announced. (I've never heard of Art Of Noise before)

Um...you do realize that was an April Fools joke. Don't you?

Edit: Sure Activision is milking this thing to death, but I'm still buying GH: Metallica on day one. Well, maybe not for $60.